My wife and I don’t have children yet, but we do have a wonderful little dog named Wiston. We got Winston, a Havanese, as a puppy just around Valentine’s Day 2007. He just had his one year birthday on December 16th. In July, I was downsized from my employer in Milwaukee, which forced me to find new employment, which happened to call for a relocation to southern California. We needed to sell our condo, but my job required me to move out first to begin work, while my wife stayed behind in Milwaukee until our condo sold. This was a very difficult time, but our little dog did wonders to keep my wife company in between trips to visit each other.

By God’s grace we sold our condo and now my wife and my doggy will be out here in California just in time for Christmas. I also read Rescuing Sprite about 2 weeks ago and boy did that make me really appreciate the companionship that these wonderful animals provide. Thanks Mark and thanks to all of you for sharing your great stories. Hopefully I will have more for later. In this picture Winston’s fur is nearly shaved because his fur was extremely matted. :) He’s still the cutest. Merry Christmas!

Mark from CA

About an hour ago we lost our oldest dog, Maddie. She was 12 years old. Maddie was a schnauzer, a pretty silver grey color. She had a good life, at least that is what we tried to give her. She enjoyed chasing chickens that wandered from the neighbor’s yard into ours. When Maddie was tired in the wintertime, she would lay on her pillow next to the heater. Her best friend was Diego, a miniature Yorkie/poodle mix. Diego liked to sit on top of Maddie like a horse… Maddie tolerated it, as if he wasn’t even there. They played together, went outside together, and ate dinner together. Diego keeps looking for her tonight, I don’t know how to explain it to him… He’s laying on her pillow now.

My six-year old daughter Isabella is trying to stay brave, as are her brothers, Michael, 14, and Hunter, 12. They don’t remember a day without Maddie. She has always been there to greet them when they get home from school. Tomorrow will be very difficult for all of us.

Maddie’s last few minutes were peaceful; she had gone into congestive heart failure sometime today, and we took her to the vet tonight. She was having trouble breathing, and the vet heard fluid on her lungs. When he gave her injections to ease her pain and try to control her breathing, she had two spasms, looked at my wife Ashley, and expired.

I look into the sky tonight, and hope she looks down on us, happily playing, able to run again, and with all the kibble she can eat.

Goodnight, Maddie…

Kevin from AL

As a volunteer at my local animal shelter, I spend hours there every day and am dedicated to this cause. Through my tears of reading Saving Sprite I was so happy to read that Mr. Levin had learned of the great gifts of adopting AND especially the secret gifts of adopting senior pets. It is an incredible gift to the animal, but even more to those that chose this route. Congratulations! And thank you for spreading the message. The heartbreak is worth the love!!!!

Carrie from OH

I have a rescuing story for you but it is different from your story. In 1999 I bought a beautiful German Shepherd from a breeder in Missouri who imports his shepherds from Germany. Lani was her name and every where I went in my pickup people would stop and look at her. At this time I lived in our home on the Patuxtant. We then sold the house so I moved back to my home ijn Rockville. After a few weeks we realized we could not keep Lani in a cage and she did not have the 5 acres to roam. We saw a German Shepherd rescue was to be held at Petsmart. We took Lani and she was the star of the shop. A family with a teenage daughter kept stopping by. Later we got a call from the rescue group that they wanted to adopt Lani. It broke our hearts but she went to the best loving family there is. We still miss her.

Before Lani we had an American Eskimo that was our baby. She lived to be about 13 years but she became so ill there was only one thing to do. We will never forget Fluffy. Thanks for your book. I cry every time I read it.

Wayne from MD

Hello!!! I just finished the book Rescuing Sprite. It was such a sweet story, both heartwarming and heartbreaking. You are so brave to have gone through that all with a dog you are so close to. I know how you must have felt. I have two dogs who I am very close to. Amber is my nine-year-old Golden Retriever who has lived with us since I was one year old. She is still very healthy and shares many of Sprite and Pepsi’s interests and antics. Lilly, my six-month-old black lab puppy, is crazy and sweet. She loves walks, treats, food, and attention, like all dogs. Mark, I share your love of dogs and understand your sadness. But I am so happy you wrote the book. Best wishes to your family this winter (and that definitley includes dogs!).

Julia from VT

I just finished reading Rescuing Sprite. What a wonderful tribute to a loyal friend. I have to tell you that I bught the book because it reminds me of my story. Except my buddies name is not Sprite, but Charlie. We adopted Charlie almost 6 years ago. Even though we went to the shelter to get a puppy for a companion to Bubba our other dog, Charlie is who we picked. Though, I think it’s really Charlie that picked us. To make a long story short Charlie’s real name was Chopin. Regal name for a 6yr old dog that was abused by his previous owner. When our vet met Charlie she got tears in her eyes and said how lucky he was that we adopted him, under the condition he was in, most people would not have. We would be lucky to have 2 yrs at best with him.

Well almost 6 yrs later, he is laying by my feet as I write this. His legs dont hold him as good as they used to (nerve damage from his previous life) and sometimes he forgets where he is. But he is such a good boy. From the moment Charlie came home, he fit in like he was always with us. Bubba taught him to eat raw hides, to beg, to smile and to know that this was and is his home. I know Charlies time with us grows more limited as days, months go by. My prayer is that we will have him at the 6 yr mark. As I want him to have had 6 years of love with us, opposed to his first 6 years spent with someone who didn’t realize what they had. My goal is to write a book about Life with Charlie, who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks. Or should I say, old dogs can teach us new tricks. He is a beautiful soul that has brought so much to me and my family. Thanks Mark for sharing your story, and as I said earlier, I hope one day to share Charlie’s.
Warm Regards

Robbi from WI